This World Needs a Hero

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As a dedicated student Ban Dietrich, arrived at the Gaudium Hall 15 minutes before his scheduled counselling session.

Tension and curiosity alternately appeared on the face of the boy who was quietly waiting on a chair in the hallway.

‘…It’s a dream.’

Although he couldn’t anticipate the fantasy he was about to experience, the fact that he could encounter one of Rosenstark’s mysteries alone made Dietrich’s heart flutter slightly.

It was a moment when he was staring at the clock that seemed to never pass.

A bright red light flashed through the corridor.

“Leciel?”

The name slipped out of his mouth unintentionally.

Leciel’s head turned towards him.

‘Ah, I’m pretending to be close, but this is…’

Ban bit his lip, feeling embarrassed for no apparent reason.

Contrary to the expectation that she would just ignore and pass by, her tightly sealed lips slowly opened.

“Hello, Ban.”

“Uh… hello! Is it because of counselling?”

…It was quite a foolish question just now, considering he was the next in line for counselling.

Leciel tilted her head and gave a short answer.

“For practice.”

Dietrich blinked in confusion.

“Huh? The training ground is in the opposite direction.”

“Different practice.”

Come to think of it, Leciel wasn’t carrying a sword.

Instead, in her slender and delicate hand, there was a small box with a lock.

The contents were not visible.

Although curiosity surged, Dietrich deliberately averted his gaze from the box, thinking it would be impolite to ask before she spoke.

Then, Leciel’s eyes softened slightly.

“Are you here for counselling?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, though.”

“I don’t want to do it either.”

“Huh?”

Leciel left those words behind and, after staring at the closed door of the counselling room for a moment, quickly moved away to the other end of the corridor.

Dietrich observed her with an awkward posture.

‘By the way, she looks incredibly tired. Wonder what’s going on?’

At that moment, a deep voice calling for Dietrich echoed through the corridor.

“Ban Dietrich, come in.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll come in… huh?”

As Dietrich reflexively responded, he realized that the voice didn’t sound anything like the Hero.

“Kukuku~ scared, huh?”

Turning around, behind him, Lucas with a mischievous expression leaned against the wall, looking at him.

A laughing mouth, but as always, the gaze was sharp.

Dietrich felt the good mood he had just experienced plummet in an instant.

“What’s up?”

“Wow, isn’t that an exaggerated expression as soon as you see me?”

“I need to go to counselling. I don’t have time to talk to you.”

“Until just now, we were just chatting away. ‘I like my new friend more than my old friend’, is this it?”

…Who’s the friend here?

Frowning, Ban turned away.

Dietrich turned around, his expression furrowed.

In response to his clear displeasure, Lucas smirked and casually passed by him.

“Ah, I am curious.”

“…?”

“After all, even if you don’t care, I wonder if your new friend will get along with you after knowing what kind of guy you are.”

Ban stood firm in his place.

“Hey, don’t take it seriously. It’s just a joke. No matter what, do you think I’ll go around blabbering about ‘that thing’?”

“You.”

“Anyway, receive counselling well! I don’t know how much you can change by receiving it, but who knows.”

Lucas, pretending to faint, tilted his head, wetting his forehead with exaggerated gestures.

The final mocking remark tested Dietrich’s patience.

“This little…”

Not even a minute left until the counselling begins.

The fact that there’s the Hero beyond the wall went completely out of his mind.

Thud!

Chasing after Lucas, Ban forcefully pinned him against the wall.

Holding Lucas by the neck with his elbow.

“Cough, ack! Hey!”

Due to Ban’s considerable height, Lucas’s body was completely buried in his shadow.

No escape.

At that overwhelming force, Lucas’s nonchalant expression froze suddenly.

Drumroll!

The closed door of the counselling room opened.

“…Ah.”

Dietrich froze in his position, entangled with Lucas.

It was excessively bad timing.

Unsanctioned physical clashes among students were the most seriously punished matters within the academy.

There was a possibility of facing the Discipline Committee and even being confined to ‘Catena.’

In more severe cases, expulsion was also on the table.

Of course, Lucas’s unilateral provocation preceded the altercation, but given the circumstances, facing disciplinary action wouldn’t be surprising.

‘I should at least offer some explanation.’

However, before he could utter a word, a low and solemn voice echoed through the corridor.

Dietrich tightly closed his eyes.

“Lucas Wellington.”

“Haha, You’re toast…?! M-me?”

“Just now, your statement seemed to disparage the efficacy of the counselling conducted by the professor.”

Lucas, who had believed the Hero would scold Dietrich, felt his pupils shake as if there were an earthquake.

“Y-yes!? N-no, not at all.”

Nonetheless, the Hero casually continued.

“You have three days of toilet cleaning duty in the dormitory.”

Lucas turned into a statue on the spot.

Toilet cleaning duty!

Cleaning the restroom shared by a thousand others!

He shouted in protest.

“Wait, no! What about Dietrich! Can’t you see what this guy is doing right now!”

The Hero, still watching the entangled duo, tilted his head with a smirk.

“Isn’t it just a ‘joke’?”

“….”

Frustration surged, but Lucas, knowing Momont’s precedent, bit back his words.

He left with a distorted face, unable to retort.

To the bewildered Ban, the Hero said,

“Ban Dietrich. To the counselling room.”

The boy followed the Hero with a dazed expression.

And so, the counseling proceeded as planned.

***

A soft light enveloped the interior of the mansion.

The overall atmosphere was warm and comfortable, as if delicate hands had touched every corner.

Ban looked around with a puzzled expression.

“Where is this?”

“Seems like you know.”

Ban cautiously nodded.

“It looks like our house.”

“…your house?”

“Something seems different.”

It certainly seemed to be the Dietrich mansion.

However, Ban mumbled, swaying as if he were a visitor in an unfamiliar space.

“It’s not usually like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s usually darker and more… venerable? It doesn’t feel lively. It’s a place you wouldn’t want to stay for even a moment.”

…No consideration for his own house.

“Let’s find out why Dreamscape portrayed your house like this. Let’s explore more.”

“Yeah! First, I’ll lead you to the reception room.”

“Sure.”

The boy began to move.

With his cautious steps, Ban toured the Dietrich mansion. It was a cozy space that made one feel better just by being there.

“Over here is the… huh?”

Suddenly, Dietrich stopped at the very beginning of a spacious corridor.

The wall was adorned with luxurious wallpaper, and numerous picture frames were neatly hung in a row.

Ban, looking perplexed, scrutinized the scene.

“This is strange. The reception room should be here… We don’t have a corridor like this in our house.”

“Then this must be it.”

“Huh?”

“The core of this fantasy.”

Ban, about to respond, held his breath.

The boy’s gentle night-colored eyes fixated on the nearest frame.

“That’s… ”

It was a portrait of a woman.

A woman with soft brown hair, gazing down at a child in her arms with a happy face.

A gentle demeanor and a warm atmosphere.

Although Dietrich had never seen her before, she seemed incredibly familiar, probably because he could detect traces of her in himself.

“…Mother.”

Jenny Dietrich.

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The missing mistress.

Ban’s footsteps quickened as he moved forward.

The corridor was long, and there were many framed pictures.

The protagonists of the paintings were mainly Ban and his mother. Some frames also featured familiar faces.

Felson Dietrich and Lucas’ father…

Their ordinary daily lives unfolded—Ban’s mother fixing his messy napkin, anxiously watching over him as he energetically played in the garden, and dozing off next to him with a serene expression.

In reality, those were ordinary moments that they might not have bothered to capture in paintings.

“….”

Ban, seemingly forgetting that he was guiding the Hero, occasionally stopped in front of such paintings, reaching out to touch them and offering a faint smile.

His expression conveyed such happiness that it didn’t feel right to rush him.

As I observed his back, memories from a few days ago flashed through my mind.

***

It was well past midnight.

The communication bead loudly chimed.

[Sorry for calling you at this late hour. I heard you contacted the mansion.]

A figure of a man appeared on the screen, who could hardly be called an elder.

Although his hair was as white as snow, his well-built body and face devoid of wrinkles made him look like someone in his thirties.

Felson Dietrich.

An exceptional investigator known as “The Perfect” and a former member of the Dawn Knights who fought alongside the “Original” in the past.

And, he was Dietrich’s father.

“It’s been a while, Felson.”

I sat down and faced him.

The aristocratic and sharp aura emanating from his well-trained body indicated that Felson was an entirely different kind of person compared to his son.

“….”

“….”

After a moment of silent eye contact, Felson spoke first.

[It seems it’s about my son, am I correct?]

I nodded.

“I thought it was necessary to get in touch with you as a concerned parent.”

[In a situation that a concerned parent needs to know… ]

His lips twitched ever so slightly.

Felson already knew what I was going to say.

Beneath the cold and stern eyes, a hint of paternal sentiment surfaced.

[It seems those symptoms have appeared again. Is Ban… alright?]

“I was right. It’s hard to imagine someone as thorough as you wouldn’t be aware of your son’s condition.”

[It’s a chronic ailment.]

Felson said that and then sighed with a somewhat tired expression.

[So, what are you…]

Sizzle!

The sound of something burning echoed.

After lighting his pipe, Felson closed his eyes.

The slightly subdued voice continued a little later.

[I guess you plan to send Dietrich away.]

I replied immediately.

“No.”

A moment of silence followed.

Felson slowly opened his eyes, then put down the pipe in his hand.

There was a slight hint of surprise in his expression.

[What? Why?]

“I want to do everything I can to help him overcome the ailment.”

[…No, just a moment.]

Felson looked puzzled.

Felson’s reaction was as anticipated.

[Why? You’ve always been strict in such matters.]

“Things are different on the battlefield and in the academy. I am not a commander here, but rather a professor. Your son is a student, not a soldier.”

Recalling the conversation with Ban, I continued,

“And Ban wants to change. A professor shouldn’t give up on a student before they do.”

[You…]

“Of course, there’s also the fact that his talent shouldn’t go to waste.”

The last statement held the key.

Felson’s cheek subtly twitched.

Normally, there’s nothing better than praising one’s children.

[If you say that, I can only be grateful. Certainly, if he learns a lot by being by your side, it may help him.]

Felson, known as ‘The Perfect,’ gained that title due to his mechanical judgement.

He could be extremely cold and calculated as needed.

However, he was still human.

As a father, he had to soften his expression.

“The atmosphere has eased a bit, and it’s time to bring up the main topic.”

I adjusted my posture.

“If the introduction was too long. The real reason I contacted you is…”

[To hear about the cause of his ailment, isn’t it?]

I nodded.

“So?”

[… I’ll tell you. There’s no need to hide it from you. I apologize for not telling you in advance.]

The air surrounding Felson changed in an instant.

Quivering eyes filled with agony.

There was no change in his expression, but the focus of his eyes trembled intensely.

Several deep breaths were taken before Felson spoke.

[Ban was at the scene of that ‘tragedy.’]

“Tragedy?”

[Jenny. The incident where I lost her… the ‘Nubes Salon Incident’ to be exact.]

Over ten years ago, the gloom that covered the Dietrich family resurfaced from his mouth.

.

.

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Deepening understanding of Ban Dietrich.

Understanding Level: 8/100 -> 20/100

Ban Dietrich’s commentary will be added:

– Parricide

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